Interview: Spike Marlowe on Placenta of Love

by Justin Grimbol

Placenta Of Love is wild as hell. It takes place on Venus, a theme park planet with an atmosphere made out of cotton candy. Each chapter starts by describing one of the parks rides, and each ride is completely crazy and over the top. The main character, Captain Carl, is part of one of the lamest attractions at the park. His best friend is a robo-cat that is obsessed with spankings. He is in love with an Artificial Intelligence he put into a placenta. The problem is the Placenta is obsessed with being pregnant. She goes nuts and starts devouring the park. It gets really crazy and really gory. It’s like a romantic version of the movie The Blob.

This book combined a lot of things I love. I love theme parks. I love being raunchy. I love cotton candy and the idea of an entire sky covered in cotton candy makes me feel warm and sweet. I love the movie THE BLOB. I love monsters. Spike makes the monster in her book a very sympathetic character. I love that.

I love this book. It mesmerized me. Spike Marlowe is like a female Ray Bradbury. Her language is not as sappy though. And her book is raunchier than anything Bradbury would write. But that’s good. Bradbury lacked sex appeal. Spike’s book is so sexy it’s hard to put down.

Here is an interview I did with her.

Justin Grimbol: Which is your favorite ride on Venus?

Spike Marlowe: My favorite ride changes, day-to-day. Today my favorite ride is The Doors of Life. I love that it’s a ride only certain people find, it’s more than it appears on the outside, it has a copper automaton that runs it, and it shows the rider’s entire history and potential for the future. It’s a magical and hopeful ride.
That being said, tomorrow my favorite ride may be The Tunnel of Lust or The Tilt-‘N-Hurl. Or maybe The Driller, or The Balbosa, or The Dark Cabaret, or the pirate ship…

JG: Did you like theme parks as a child?

SM: No. Theme parks were too sterile. I loved carnivals, though, especially carnivals that could be called “dark carnivals.” They seemed to be full of strange possibilities, like Venus.

JG: If this was a movie, what kind of soundtrack would it have?

SM: I actually compiled a soundtrack for writing the book. If the book were a movie, the soundtrack would be very similar. The book soundtrack began with Lou Reed’s “Satellite of Love.” I added Miike Snow’s “Animal” to the end of the list during the editing process, at the suggestion of my editor, the amazing Kevin Shamel. The rest of the songs were by the Dresden Dolls, Amanda Palmer, Tori Amos, Evelyn Evelyn and from the Rogue’s Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs, & Chanteys album, a compilation of major rock stars like Nick Cave, Lou Reed, Bono, Sting and Jarvis Cocker singing traditional piratical tunes.

JG: Who is your favorite character in the book?

SM: I’m kind of madly in love with the Pope Natzo Innocent. But then, I’m kind of madly in love with all of the characters.

JG: You kinda look like a super hero with that mask on. If you were an actual super hero what would your name be? And what would your super power be? Who would your arch enemy be? What would your weakness be?

SM: Well… I kind of actually am a real superhero. That’s why I wear a mask, but I also wear it because it’s an awesome mask. It’s reversible! I go by my real name, Spike Marlowe, because I like to keep it real.
Unfortunately, since I’m a self-proclaimed superhero, I don’t have an actual superpower. I know other self-proclaimed superheroes have cool superpowers, but they are typically pretty well-to-do and funded their powers. I make my income busking and writing. A real superpower is super unaffordable right now.
I’d like to say my superpower is busking, but I’m not a great busker either. I’m a pretty good writer, though. That’s a pretty awesome superpower. I also make great microwave fudge.
If I were to get another superpower, like a real one, I’d like teleportation.

As for an arch-enemy, I have one of those, too. His name is Malkor X. He just arrived on the scene in San Francisco and he’s driving me up the wall.

As for my weakness? I’m not much of a rockstar superhero – in fact, I’m more of a real human, but I’m totally working on it. I’ve started lifting weights, eating tons of tofu and everything.